How competitive is Teach for America?

BookAddict
Sun, 10 Oct 2010 12:43:56 +0000

FWIW, I’m a 2010 CM in Tulsa. Moving along…

Having a background in education won’t help your prospects, but it won’t hurt, either. If nothing else, if you get rejected, there’s nothing preventing you from teaching in a low income school anyway if that’s something you’re passionate about.

The website may not state what they’re looking for in specific terms, but what it does state is pretty accurate:

From http://www.teachforamerica.org/admissions/who-were-looking-for/:

We look for evidence of:
-Demonstrated past leadership and achievement: achieving ambitious, measurable results in academic, professional, extracurricular, or volunteer settings
-Perseverance and sustained focus in the face of challenges
-Strong critical thinking skills: making accurate linkages between cause and effect and generating relevant solutions to problems
-Superior organizational ability: planning well, meeting deadlines, and working efficiently
-Respect for individuals’ diverse experiences and effectively working with people from a variety of backgrounds
-Superior interpersonal skills to motivate and lead others
-Thorough understanding of and desire to work relentlessly in pursuit of our vision

Successful teachers are also accomplished leaders. Applicants have historically demonstrated leadership within a broad range of experiences, such as:
-Holding leadership roles on campus and delivering significant results for organizations and research projects
-Excelling as team managers at work, coaches of athletic teams, or directors of community organizations
-Demonstrating success in a variety of career fields, such as business, law, medicine, and education
-Achieving measurable results in professional jobs, military experience, or graduate school



Most of the questions they ask you in the application/interview process are directly related to these things. There really are no surprises in that regard.

ETA: Study abroad in and of itself has no bearing on your acceptance, I think. Now, you can definitely talk about your experiences abroad in a way that might help or hinder your chances of acceptance. (I studied abroad twice – though once was after my acceptance to TFA – and mentioned this a couple of times during my interview in response to questions posed to me.)